Safety in East Surrey Hospital’s urgent and emergency department has been rated inadequate after inspectors found patients were cared for in corridors and waiting areas, some for prolonged periods.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated the Redhill service as a whole “requires improvement”, a fall from the “good” rating it received at its previous assessment in 2018. The regulator published its assessment on 4 November and has issued a formal warning notice to Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs the hospital.
The findings relate to an inspection on 9 and 10 March 2026. The trust has accepted the findings and says it has made changes since the visit. The November assessment does not reflect a fresh inspection of conditions that month.
Delays and safety concerns
Inspectors described a department under sustained pressure, with overcrowding and delays in accessing further care. They said systems for assessing and monitoring risk were not consistently effective and identified delays in initial assessment and treatment.
Patients arriving by ambulance were registered in corridor areas without a timely clinical assessment, inspectors found. Inspectors also described ambulance patients being seen in order of arrival rather than prioritised by clinical need.
The CQC said children and people experiencing mental ill health were among those exposed to increased risks in the department.
The regulator identified four breaches of rules covering safe care and treatment, premises and equipment, staffing, and good governance. The warning notice followed the assessment, which identified concerns including delays in assessment and treatment and the safety of people in corridors and waiting areas.
The trust supplied an improvement plan in response to the notice. The CQC has also requested a plan setting out how the trust will address the wider regulatory breaches identified in the assessment.
Patients praised staff
Patients and relatives consistently praised staff for their kindness, compassion and professionalism, the CQC said.
Some patients also reported long waits. Others said being cared for in public or non-clinical spaces affected their privacy, dignity and comfort.
Trust says changes are under way
The trust says it has accelerated an existing urgent and emergency care improvement programme since the inspection. It says it has revised initial assessment processes, strengthened senior clinical oversight and added support for rapid assessment and ambulance handovers.
It also says it has strengthened monitoring in corridors and waiting areas, installed call bells so patients can summon help, and increased nursing support in the adult waiting area. The trust says its longer-term aim is to eradicate corridor care.
The trust says it has also increased specialist oversight for children and people experiencing mental ill health. It says it has expanded same-day emergency care, including a cardiology service launched in August and a frailty service operating seven days a week. The trust says the department began using a national assessment model in October, intended to identify patients’ needs earlier.
Chief executive Andrew Hines said the trust had seen significant improvements since March, while acknowledging that more work remained. The CQC’s assessment reflects what inspectors found during their March visit, not a later inspection.
The regulator separately rated medical care at East Surrey Hospital “requires improvement”. The hospital’s overall rating remains “requires improvement”; the inadequate judgement applies specifically to safety within urgent and emergency care.
Featured image: AI-generated illustration.
